HD Heads-Up: January 3-9

December 23, 2025 2 Comments

➢➢ Tune into The Piano (TVNZ 1, 7.30 Wednesday) to see Traitors UK’s Claudia Winkleman join musicians Lang Lang and Mika in the search for some of the UK’s best amateur piano performers. “But there’s a twist,” The Guardian said. “The players don’t know they are being observed by a pair of big names, hidden in the back room of a station restaurant, ready to choose one pianist a week to play at a specially staged gig at London’s Royal Festival Hall. We do, though, because the camera keeps cutting away from the piano to bring us the judges’ comments.” Despite this intrusiveness, “Winkleman’s new talent show is an utter delight” …

➢➢ True-crime documentary The British Airways Killer (TVNZ 1, 9.40 Sunday) reveals how the Thames Valley Major Crime Unit investigated the 2010 case of a pilot who killed his wife in leafy Ascot and buried her in Windsor Great Park. The Independent thought it “a sensitive look at a strange and harrowing case … an exemplar of real-life crime storytelling, and done with such quiet, understated competence” …

➢➢ Deep Deception (TVNZ 1, midnight Monday) is another true-crime docuseries, about Britain’s “spy cops” scandal, in which a secret unit of undercover police spied on members of the public for more than 40 years, including more than 60 women who were conned into intimate relationships with officers — five of whom went on to expose the skulduggery. “It is expertly crafted to resemble a drama – a thriller, at times, with clues followed and secret identities unmasked,” The Telegraph said …

➢➢ TVNZ 1 is stripping the latest Grand Designs House of the Year across four nights, starting 8.40 Sunday. Reads the blurb: “From cliff-carved hideaways and storm-beaten island retreats to striking transformations of barns, bungalows and townhouses, the search will take the team across Britain to discover breathtaking locations, powerful human stories and remarkable design” …

➢➢ The two-part Australia’s Most Identical (TVNZ 1, 7.30 Thursday) explores if some twins can be ‘more identical’ than others by conducting tests and challenges for 100 pairs to find the most indistinguishable duo “in the name of science and a bit of friendly competition” …

➢➢ The Walking Dead’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan hosts Destination X USA (TVNZ 2, 8.40 Monday, continues Tuesday), an adventure series that fuses fantasy and reality in a road trip competition where the destination is unknown. “The scenery, Morgan’s charm, and the good casting will keep you watching Destination X, even though the gameplay is too complicated and frustrating,” Decider said …

➢➢ TVNZ 2’s Taskmaster New Year’s Treat 2026 (8.30 Wednesday) will be followed 24 hours later by Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters, in which the “ocean-phobic” likes of Sir Lenny Henry, Lucy Punch, Helen George, Rachel Riley, Ade Adepitan, Dougie Poynter and Ross Noble sink or swim with sharks in the Bahamas to confront their greatest fears. The reviews were awash with puns: “mildly entertaining but lacks bite” (Telegraph) and “I’m absolutely hooked” (Guardian) …

➢➢The Game (Three, 8.05 Monday) is a four-part Channel 5 thriller that The Killing Times thought “twisty, pulpy, and compulsively watchable“. It stars Jason Watkins as an ex-cop who can’t forget a stalker-killer case he never solved. When a newcomer (Robson Green) moves into a house on his street, he suspect him to be the killer who got away. “Another unpretentious, perfectly serviceable Channel 5 drama,” was The Telegraph’s verdict …

➢➢ The Teacher: Body in the Lake (Eden, 9.30 Sunday) makes its ~~linear~~ Eden debut a year after landing on ThreeNow while returning for new seasons are America’s Got Talent (TVNZ 2, 7.00 Saturday), Home, Land and Sea (Sky Open, 7.00 Sunday) and The Hotel Inspector Revisits (TVNZ 1, 8.25 Friday) …

➢➢ TVNZ 2 is stripping post-9.30 re-runs of Travel Guides Australia Monday-Thursday while ending their runs are:

World’s Most Scenic River Journeys
Apples Never Fall
Customer Wars
Interior Design Masters With Alan Carr
Big Boys …

➢➢ Live/delayed free-to-air sport includes:

Super Smash Women’s Cricket: Central Hinds v Canterbury Magicians (Duke, 12.30 Saturday)
Super Smash Men’s Cricket: Central Stags v Canterbury Kings (Duke, 4.15 Saturday)
Premiere League: Goal Rush — Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest (Sky Open, 10am Sunday)
Super Smash Women’s Cricket: Northern Brave v Otago Sparks (Duke, 2.00 Sunday)
Super Smash Men’s Cricket: Northern Brave v Otago Sparks (Duke, 2.00 Sunday)
American Football: NFL (Duke, 7am Monday)
ASB Classic Women’s Tennis (Sky Open, 11.30am weekdays)
Super Smash Men’s Cricket: Auckland Aces v Otago Volts (Duke, 12.30 Tuesday)
Super Smash Women’s Cricket: Auckland Aces v Otago Sparks (Duke, 4.40 Tuesday)
Super Smash Women’s Cricket: Wellington Blaze v Central Hinds (Duke, 12.30 Wednesday)
Super Smash Men’s Cricket: Wellington Firebirds v Central Stags (Duke, 4.15 Wednesday)
Super Smash Men’s Cricket: Northern Brave v Canterbury Kings (Duke, 2.00 Thursday)
Super Smash Women’s Cricket: Northern Brave v Canterbury Magicians (Duke, 6.10 Thursday)
Super Smash Women’s Cricket: Wellington Blaze v Otago Sparks (Duke, 12.30 Friday)
Super Smash Men’s Cricket: Wellington Firebirds v Otago Volts (Duke, 4.15 Friday) …